CONVERSATION XI.

A Short view of the Prophecies relating to Mohammedanism.

Samuel. Mother, will you tell us now about the prophecies in the Bible relating to Mohammed and his religion?

Mother. Yes, my son; if you will get the Bible and read in the eighth chapter of Daniel, from the 8th to the 14th and from the 21st to the 26th verses, I will show you how it applies to the character and conduct of Mohammed and his followers.

And

Samuel. "Therefore the he-goat waxed very great and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and

of the stars to the ground and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And a host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised and prospered. Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?"

"And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the trangressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise,

and shall destroy the mighty, and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand."

Mother. The book of Daniel contains a prophetic view of the four great empires, which conquered most of the world.

Samuel. Yes, mother, I have read about them. They were the kingdom of Babylon, the kingdom of the Medes and Persians, the Greek empire, and the Roman empire. But, I didn't know that they were foretold in the Bible. I have often wondered what could be the meaning of many parts of the book of Daniel; but from the "Great Apostasy," I learned that the seventh chapter relates to Popery.

Mother. Yes; the eighth foretells the great impostor which rose up and overwhelmed the Eastern church.

Peter. Mother, what is meant by the hegoat, that waxed very great, in the first verse that Samuel read?

Mother. The rough he-goat represents the united power of the states of Greece.

Elizabeth. Well, what was the great horn, between his eyes?

Mother. A horn, in prophecy means a kingdom. The great horn, here spoken of, is the kingdom of Alexander the Great, which rose out of those states.

Samuel. But, it says, the great horn was broken, and four others came up in its place. What does that mean?

Mother. Alexander the Great died, his kingdom was broken to pieces, and divided between four of his generals. These four kingdoms were the four horns that came up after the great one was broken. One of these four kingdoms embraced Egypt, Libya, Arabia, Cælosyria, and Palestine. This was the one out of which the little horn arose. Elizabeth, you may read the 9th verse. Elizabeth.

"And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great toward the South, and toward the East, and toward the Pleasant Land." Mother, what is meant by the little horn, that came out of one of the four?

Mother. It undoubtedly means the Mohammedan power. That province of Arabia, which was conquered by Alexander, was the very one in which Mohammed was born. So that the empire of the Saracens rose out of one of the four kingdoms into which Alexander's dominions were divided. The horn in the vision was

at first a little one.

Mohammedanism had a

very small beginning. Its founder was an obscure inhabitant of a desert corner of Asia. His first converts were his wife, his pupil, and his friend. At the end of three years from the time he first began to make known his project, he had scarcely a dozen followers. But, from the history I have already related, it appears that Mohammedanism, from this very small beginning, soon became a great kingdom. It extended itself to the South, over Arabia, Egypt, and a considerable part of Central Africa to the East, over Persia, Bokhara, and Hindostan ; to the north, over Palestine, Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, Greece, and Tartary. The land of Judea is called in Scripture, the "pleasant land," from its being the residence of God's chosen people, the seat of worship, where he